Valentine's Day!

Imagine this...

Mr. Todd Lee Sappee is buzzed over the intercom and notified by his secretary that he has a delivery waiting at the front desk.  Knowing full well what day is it, he bounces from his chair and skips down the hall towards the super special surprise waiting for him.  Behind him, he leaves his bewildered boss, Mrs. U. R. Krazee mid-drone about the latest security software downloads. 

Mr. Sappee can't get there fast enough.  He daydreams about what it will be.  Will it be a dozen long stem rozes?  A fuzzy little teddy bear holding a box of chocolates bearing the inscription 'Be My Valentine?'  Will it be a singing telegram with a fist full of balloons?

He finally arrives at his destination, sees the carefully constructed floral arrangement and squeals with delight.  Snatching the card, he reads it aloud and then calls his mother, sister, and all his friends from golf league to tell them all about it...every detail.  Beaming, he returns to his office and can barely focus for the rest of the day as he mentally plans his outfit and hairstyle for his date that evening.

Sound like anyone you know?  Didn't think so.  Ladies go for this stuff, but dudes?...not so much. 

Because of this, Valentine's Day generally eludes me.  I'm not always sure what my husband would like for a gift. I do know, however, that he loves candy.

Loves. Candy.

So this year, his Valentine's Day gift is different, fun and definitely super cheesy. I'm sure he'll love it!

With a piece of poster board, super glue, a black Sharpie and a whole bunch of candy, you too, could give a loved one a candy-gram. Basically, walk the candy aisle and find treats you could use in a sentence. For example, 'I sure do love you and our little SUGAR BABIES.' Or, 'I sure SKORed when I married a BIG HUNK like you!.

I had a lot of fun with this project which is sure to elicit a happy smile from my man. 

On another note, I have two sons...neither of which would probably want to hand out pink hearts or doillies and are tired of the same old boxed Bakugan or Batman valentine cards.  This year, we did something a bit different.  I saw it on-line and thought it was a brilliant idea.

Construction paper, lollipops, a glue stick and my handy dandy black Sharpie created these little cuties.

Cheers to you this Valentine's Day and may you feel as loved as Mr. Todd Lee Sappee did.

Spiced Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Granola

Granola.

Not the most glamorous name for a food.  Just say it a few times out loud.  Maybe it's just me, but it's one of those words that just sound weird.  Like luggage, and fork and horse. 

Maybe I'm the weird one.  Yeah, that's probably a much more likely conclusion. 

Either way, this granola is incredible.  Growing up, granola never really appealed to me.  It was hard and boring and my jaw always got tired of chewing long before my belly was full.  As an adult, however, I love it!  It's fun to go to the health food store and peruse the wall of bulk bins looking for just the right granola for breakfast the next day.

Yes, this is fun to me...weird, I know.  Told ya.  

I also like to search through the wall of bulk spices.  As I've mentioned before, I don't buy spices in the spice aisle.  The bulk bins at the natural food stores are much more economical.  Instead of paying $10 for a tiny plastic jar of cardamom, you can get just the amount you need for the cost of a few pennies. 

After you read the recipe, you'll notice that I didn't use golden raisins.  I didn't have any, but the regular ones worked just as well.  My husband likes to just munch on this plain as a snack too.  My children even liked it...both of them...which is a miracle. 

Spiced Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Granola
From Oprah magazine

3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1 cup pistachios (optional)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, and salt.  Add oats, pecan, and pistachios (if using), and toss to coat.  Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Stir in raisins and cranberries (if using), and continue baking until oats are just crisp, about 15 minutes more.  Stir one last time, then set aside to cool completely.  When hard, break into chunks and store in an airtight container.